March 2011

March 27, 2011

Hello dear friends - Since the tragic events of March 11th in Japan, it has been difficult for me to live life as usual - in the forefront of my mind, my actions & my every day life, my thoughts continually turn to the people of Japan and the thousands who have been directly affected by these events and the loss they are coping with.

I am very familiar with loss and the many ways it can show up, uninvited, into our lives. In December, 2005 one week post divorce from my husband, the home my daughters and I were living in caught fire. We were home at the time and while we were able to safely get out of the home, the financial, emotional, psychological and physical loss we experienced was traumatic & devastating. We had nothing left but each other, and what ever hope I could dig deep for that would be sufficient enough for the 3 of us to rebuild our lives upon. The good news is my husband, (my girls' daddy) and I did re-marry oneanother and together day by day, year by year since that night we've been rebuilding our lives, with hope as our foundation.

Have you ever found yourself with uninvited loss showing up in your life, and having to dig deep for hope?

Brene Brown eloquently describes hope as a thought process, with our emotions playing only a supporting role. This thought process is made up of goals, pathways, and agency.

Simply hope happens when

- we have the ability the set realistic goals (I know where I want to go)

- we are able to figure out how to achieve those goals, including the ability to stay flexible and develop alternative routes (I know how to get there, I'm persistent, and I can tolerate disapointment and try again.)

With such tremendous loss, how do the people of Japan begin to restore hope in their lives? How can I, a small business owner, in my small corner of the world send hope to the people of Japan? Will my small expression of hope make a difference? Can what I do help them believe in their everyday life again? My answer came in the form of developing

March 11, 2011

A few weeks ago, my sweet, sweet friend Kate Pitner sharedthis Brene Brown talk with me. It wasn't until last night that I finally gave myself the gift of time to listen, with my whole heart & soul, to Brene's thoughts on vulnerability.

I've been aware of Brene's work for a little while now - I posted about her here, but sometimes we're not quite ready to jump in to such deep-end-of-the-pool exploration. We may only want to dip our newly painted pretty little toes into such waters.

Lovely spirits, this is a pool you want to jump into.

Give yourself a few quiet minutes to listen to this "researcher-storyteller," warm, engaging, funny, everywoman as she talks with us about vulnerability, authenticity, connecting & joy.

I would love to engage in some dialog with you after you listen to the talk. Listen, then come back and share your comments with me . . .

To Get You Thinking

In a social media world where we are surrounded by so much beauty (I have a day long favorites list of blogs I enjoy visiting) is there value to be found in imperfection?

March 08, 2011

It wasn't unil I had given birth to both my children, and knew returning to "work" was imminent. I knew I didn't (couldn't) give my little ones over to someone else to care for 10 hours a day, nor return to working in the legal field. What would I do? How could I create a job that would allow me to be home and care for my daughters while I earned my income? The long story, short . . .I discovered my artistic talent while playing with them as little ones, play dough, finger paints, bubbles - one step led to the next, and I decided to take my play to a professional level and here I am today with hundreds of products with my art being sold world wide.

Those little girls are now almost 14 and 11 - and I delight in watching them discover early on what they love - music, writing, directing; and dance respectively. We speak often of doing what you love - choosing their life's work as a means of expressing their personal gifts. I am certain they will and at a much younger age than I.

BUT

it

is

never

too

late

to

begin.

What do you love doing?

After discovering Beth's blog, I found myself thinking about how I tend to stay tucked in the background because I am so busy working & meeting deadlines, creating and managing my business. When I am not occupied there, I am taking care of my family and my home. I decided, this year I will take steps into the wide open to discover what I can, I will expand my creative expression and I will reach up and out to connect with other creative spirits who do what they love, whether as an avocation or profession.

As serendipitous fate would have it, Beth was once again offering opportunity to participate in

Participating was a first for me and I'm delighted to be sending a little stitched LOVE to Helen across the pond at Dixonhill. Helen is a talented photographer, be sure to pay her a visit.

I created this card using art from one of my newest collections, "Pieces of My Heart."

Art prints of the complete collection will soon be available for purchase at Terri Conrad Designs. (I hope you like your card Helen).

March 03, 2011

how/from who/ where do you seek inspiration? I love this question, ..to inspire the female spirit is the cornerstone of my brand. To be inspired by someone is to be moved, guided, influenced, or to have that certain something brought out in you that you may not have been in touch with previously. Creatively speaking, I was inspired by some great creative women, Mary Englebreit, from whom I learned the term “art licensing;” Dena Designs whose work moved me; and Valorie Tabor-Smith who guided me in my early days as I educated myself about the world of art licensing. Valorie also moved me to buy my first set of water color pencils. Each of these women are dynamic and successful in their own right, and while a deep sense of inspiration to me, each of our creative works are vastly different.

define what "original" means to you. I’d like to preface this with it being in relationship to selling or seeking profit from one’s creation: I consider it an original design if it consists of mediums that are legally yours to use, that is no one owns the copyright to it – you can mix it up, modify it, create it, and add this or that, be it traditional paint & pencil, digital or like much of my work, a mix of all the above. I believe concepts, ideas and the written word fall under this umbrella too.

I designed the art for these Terri Conrad Designs' products having derived from nature's bounty of color in spring, and the pieces in the background are inspired by the look, feel, color & texture of linen & stone

Today, friends of mine are participating in a wonderful expression of being inspired when creating. Do visit them to see what inspires them and to take a peek at their artistic talent.